特拉华两参议员投诉第三巡回法官马斯科特 质疑其兼职公关公司涉道德违规
据《特拉华在线》与《美国律师协会杂志》报道，特拉华州联邦参议员克里斯·库恩斯与丽莎·布伦特·罗切斯特10月2日对第三巡回上诉法院法官马斯科特提出道德投诉，质疑其在一家公关公司的兼职涉嫌违反司法道德规范。
两名参议员在投诉中称，联邦法官从事可能影响司法公正形象的有偿外部兼职，违反了《司法行为准则》的相关规定，要求首席法官展开调查。
法官马斯科特方面尚未公开回应。司法道德专家表示，针对联邦上诉法院法官的道德投诉将由巡回法院司法委员会按程序处理，调查可能包括听证与书面质询环节。
联邦法官的外部兼职一向受到严格限制，旨在维护司法独立与公众信任。此次由本州两名联邦参议员联名投诉，规格罕见，调查结果可能影响法官的案件分配乃至去留，备受法律界关注。
Delaware Senators File Ethics Complaint Against Third Circuit Judge Mascott Over PR Firm Role
Delaware U.S. Senators Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester filed an ethics complaint October 2 against Third Circuit Judge Mascott, questioning whether his side role at a public-relations firm violates judicial ethics rules, Delaware Online and the ABA Journal reported.
The senators said paid outside work that could compromise the appearance of judicial impartiality breaches the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges, and asked the chief judge to investigate.
Judge Mascott has not publicly responded. Ethics experts say complaints against circuit judges go through the circuit judicial council, and the inquiry could include hearings and written interrogatories.
Outside employment by federal judges is tightly restricted to safeguard judicial independence and public trust. A joint complaint by a state's two U.S. senators is rare; the findings could affect the judge's case assignments or even tenure, and the legal community is watching closely.
图片来源：图：位于费城的James A. Byrne联邦法院大楼（第三巡回上诉法院驻地）。摄影：Carol M. Highsmith，公有领域，来源：Wikimedia Commons
